The Bar

In this season that saw Nakasuga shooting for the coveted third consecutive championship in the pinnacle class, he emerged the winner in a fierce battle with rivals Kosuke Akiyoshi (Honda) and Takumi Takahashi (Honda) to take the opening round, the Suzuka 2 and 4 Race, and get the season off to a great start. Katsuyuki Nakasuga In the next round at Autopolis, he took a fall and suffered injuries before the qualifying, leaving him to start the race from 6th position. Although the victory in the next day’s race went to rival Takahashi, Nakasuga was able to beat out Kazuki Watanabe (Kawasaki) by a slight margin to claim 2nd place. Then, in round three at Twin Ring Motegi, …

Rossi didn’t let the changeable conditions slow him down and set a fastest lap of 1’32.437 on lap five. As things closed up at the front, fans were thoroughly entertained with a heated battle between Rossi, Marquez and Iannone. Sparks were flying from Rossi’s bike on lap 12 as Dani Pedrosa started to get into the mix. Six laps later rain threatened again, allowing the Doctor to reel in Marquez. Rossi kept his head down, but as the track dried again he came just short and finished in a deserved second place, 3.516 seconds behind the front man. Teammate Lorenzo had an unlucky end to the 2014 season. Starting from fourth on the grid, he soon got caught up in a fight with …

'Borrowed' from another site. https://www.flickr.com/photos/bcgreeneiv/sets/72157600755463552/page4/

Hi my son recently bought a XT125R 2005 vintage with only one ignition key which he has now mislaid or lost, he has bought a new switch for a 2007 model as the correct year one is £70 dearer in the hope it would fit without too much trouble. We have now found that although they both have 6 wires from the switch , they all go to one multi plug on the new switch but some go to a separate plug on the switch on the bike, does anybody know if its possible to splice and shrink wrap the right wires from the new switch to the old wiring, if any idea of wire colours it would be a help as we have no wiring diagrams.

been in this for a few years now and gets you into shows for a £1 if you come on your bike. Costs just a stamp

“One of the most striking features of the new bike is the WR’s unique single-cell fuel tank incorporating the rear sub frame”, Yamaha Factory Racing Team Yamlube Team Manager Jose Leloir commented. “The major consideration when building a Dakar bike is where to place the necessary 35 litres of fuel. For 2014 we had five separate fuel tanks all requiring pumps and all linked by fuel pipes. By using a single carbon fibre fuel cell we have simplified the system massively and in the processes made huge gains in both weight saving and reliability. In total we’ve reduced the bike’s weight by a considerable ten kilos and in the process made servicing the bike each evening a whol…

Week 1 "Still, if we look at the route a bit more closely we can make some educated guesses about what to expect. The first day is a long stage but a short special, 663 and 175 kilometres respectively. It has been billed as a giant prologue without major difficulty and that seems entirely logical. Clearly the challenge is to not get carried away and do anything stupid right at the start of the race, while making sure to be up with the front runners and not stuck in the dust of the mid-pack riders, to be well positioned for the stages prior to crossing over the Andes into Chile." "From the second stage on you could say that the Dakar ‘proper’ gets under way with two to…

Olivier Pain “As always it’s a pleasure to be back in South America. This will be my seventh time here for the Dakar but I’m still surprised by the warmth of the people and the welcome they give to the competitors. At the moment we are in a hotel about 70 kilometres from the centre of Buenos Aires, the perfect place to relax, acclimatise and recover from the flight. But even here, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, the other hotel guests come up to us to wish us luck and politely ask for an autograph. We’ll stay here for a night. The whole team celebrated the New Year together and then it was be quickly off to bed. We’ll save the big celebrations for when we arr…

Olivier Pain “For sure, with us moving into the assistance parc with all the other teams and going through scrutineering, the tension goes up a little. The start is only a few hours away now and you can feel the anticipation. The nice thing about the Dakar though is that it really is like a big family. We spend a lot of time together and share something very intense and that creates strong friendships. Plus of course this isn’t circuit racing, it isn’t a contact sport, essentially we are racing against the clock not each other. Obviously there is some rivalry but, for me at least, my biggest challenger is myself and the mental battle I have to stay focused and not make an…

Not taking any unnecessary risks, the Yamaha riders made a cautious start. Olivier Pain was the first rider of the team to ride his WR450F Rally into the bivouac (13th at 03’34), followed by Michael Metge (19th at 05’40) and Alessandro Botturi (25th at 06’35), who were forced to slow their pace due to visibility issues. Michael Metge Quad rider Ignacio Casale had a different strategy as he took on the first stage. After securing his first Dakar crown one year ago, the Chilean gave his all to show that he still has what it takes. He was the first quad to start the first stage and rode his Yamaha Raptor 700 to a solid one-minute lead. Last year's runner-up, Rafał Sonik, c…

Michael Metge was the fastest of the Factory Yamaha’s today, securing 17th place. Alessandro Botturi took 18th and Olivier Pain arrived not long after in 19th. Today’s leading Yamaha was Spanish rider Juan Pedrero Garcia. The Spanish rider battled the heat to finish an impressive 10th. Despite the heat, it was a good day for the Yamahas in the quad category. Rafał Sonik won the special stage with his Yamaha Raptor 700 as he created an over three-minute lead from Ignacio Casale (3’33), who was closely followed by Sergio Lafuente (4’14). The three Yamaha riders top the general ranking, with fellow Yamaha rider, Sebastian Halpern, less than five minutes behind in fourth pl…

Best placed Yamaha was once again Juan Pedrero’s machine, finishing in 10th place. The day’s results put Pedrero in 10th overall, Metge in 17th, Boturri in 18th and Pain in 19th place. Yamaha Netherlands Verhoeven Team’s Robert van Pelt didn’t start this morning after being helicoptered out of yesterday’s special after a crash, however his teammate Frans Verhoeven is still in the game and finished 32nd. The riders are now taking a well-earned rest to ready themselves for tomorrow’s stage. Marked by its long liaison of 594 km and large difference in altitude, the route will take riders to an altitude of 4,800m. The thin, cold air will make for demanding riding conditio…

Yamaha Factory Racing Rally Team Yamalube’s Alessandro Botturi was the next rider to complete the route from Copiapo to Antofagasta. He arrived at the bivouac and found himself in 18th place just ahead of Michael Metge in 20th. Olivier Pain crossed the line shortly after in 24th position. Alessandro Botturi In the quad category Rafal Sonik was again the fastest man of the day. The Polish rider set a fastest time of 05h47’46. Completing the top three were fellow Yamaha riders Ignacio Casale (10’51) and Jeremias Gonzalez Ferioli (21’41). After today’s results, the provisional overall standings show Sonik (21h52’41), Casale (24’23) and Yamaha’s Sergio Lafuente (26’20) as t…

The day started slowly as the start of the race was delayed to 8:00 am local time. Yesterday’s heavy rain in Uyuni had made it nearly impossible to cross the salt pans that cover the first 100km of the eighth stage and an alternative route had to be sorted. The change in plans did not affect Pedrero’s focus. With a chance of victory in his sights the Spaniard fought off Stefan Svitko and snatched the lead, until Pablo Quintanilla dove under his time by just eleven seconds. Today’s results see Pedrero jump to 11th place in the overall rankings, after having received an 15-minute penalty yesterday that saw him drop from 6th to 23rd in the race results and from 19th to 20t…

For the second marathon stage of the 2015 Dakar, the remaining competitors had to make another high-altitude crossing of the Andes before tackling a 371 kilometre special. The route was mostly over hard-packed ground and directly followed by 135 kilometres of liaison to take them to their bivouac. Olivier Pain finished today’s special 15’37 behind the leader, with Frans Verhoeven not far behind in 19th (at 17’10). Olivier preserves his 10th place overall, while fellow Yamaha mounted Frenchman Xavier de Soultrait finished 22nd and holds on to his 13th place overall. Spanish Yamaha rider Juan Pedrero’s run of bad luck continued. The latest news is that he had a stand stil…

The stage was not enjoyed by all Yamaha riders unfortunately. Spanish Yamaha rider Juan Pedrero didn’t start this morning and was very nearly joined by Xavier de Soultrait, who was ill all night with gastroenteritis. The Frenchman finally arrived at this evening’s bivouac in a courageous 21st place. Overall Olivier Pain maintains his 10th place, Xavier de Soultrait is 13th with Frans Verhoeven 16th. Xavier de Soultrait In the quad category there were some different names on top of the leader board than the usual suspects. Today it was Christophe Declerck who came out on top, leading from fellow Yamaha rider Nelson Sanabria (at 06’35). However the order of the overall st…

Recently I changed a piston and rings on a 1999 TW125 (the same engine as a SR125 i understand). I bought a set from Wemoto which was not genuine Yamaha. There were no markings on the rings and I couldn't say for sure which of the two top rings was which. After much trawling around the internet and leaving a post in the workshop forum here (thanks Airhead for getting back to me), I did come across this site, which might be useful. http://www.dansmc.com/rings.htm Although obviously I can't substantiate it, it does look like the fella has looked into it.

Rossi was up for the challenge of repeating his strong ride of two weeks ago. He needed little time to get back into the swing of things and was quick to take over the top spot from his teammate at the start of the eight-hour long session. As the temperature started rising the pace of the field picked up, but the Doctor was quick to respond and cruised back to the top the leader board with an impressive 2’00.414s lap, which kept him sitting on top for the rest of the session. Teammate Lorenzo had a more challenging start to the second Sepang test. Though he briefly topped the leaderboard with a 2’02.099s lap, he struggled to find the good setup for the slippery asphalt…

I See Pete the restorer is coming to the stafford show in April with a new stand of classic restoration. Pete you may recall does the bike on "the Motorbike Show" loves his yams

Hi My local dealer replaced the pads on my YPR250. Now they've worn down a bit they constantly rattle. I've had a look and the shims are there and the retaining brackets. Has anyone experienced similar and what resolved it? Many thanks Weejockie.